OUR TRIP TO ALASKA.
Sat, 7-28. We were scheduled to leave here at 2pm on American,
 but when we got to the airport they said there was a problem
with the plane in Dallas. They rescheduled us on Delta but it
 didn't leave til 4:30, so we went back to Michelle's. She & 
the girls took us to the airport. We checked our luggage first.
 Then we came back to the airport & found out Delta was running
 late so it was 5:30pm before we finally left. I was really 
wondering if we were supposed to be going on this trip or not.
  From here we went to Atlanta & then to Anchorage & arrived
 there at 12:30am their time & 4:30am our time. It wasn't too
 bad though. We got a rental car at the airport & drove to 
Big Bear B&B. Had a nice room. Nice owners.
 Sun, 7-29:Had a great breakfast at the B&B of sourdough 
waffles & homemade toppings of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry
 & rhubarb & then whipped cream. Also had reindeer sausage & 
hash browns. We drove to Whittier which is south of Anchorage.
(Everyone needs to get their Alaska map out & route this with
 me.) We had to go thru a tunnel that is for a train. It has
 a schedule & when it isn't running, the cars go on the train
 tracks thru the tunnel. It is 2 1/2 miles long. It was neat
 at first but then got kind of scarry, just knowing a train
 comes thru here too. We took a high speed catamaran 
(The Klondike Express) to the glaciers. That was awesome. 
At times, near the glaciers, there were hunks of ice in the
 water & the boat just went right thru them. It was something
 you see on TV but not in person. The glaciers are blue. We 
saw seals & lots of sea otters. This was a 4 1/2 hr cruise.
 They also fed us a good lunch. On our drive back to Anchorage,
 we saw Dall sheep, up close.
 Mon, 7-30:Had egg, chees & chili quiche, reindeer breakfast
 sausage & rhubarb muffins, juice & coffee for breakfast at 
the B&B. Did some sightseeing in town. The log cabin visitor
 center has sod growing on the roof. Lots of flowers all over.
 It drizzled this morning a little. Saw City Hall, Museum of
 History & Art, Center for Performing Arts,  Alaska Statehood
 Monument, Earthquake Park and then drove past Whittier & 
across to Kenai & down to Homer. On the way we saw a moose
 in a front yard in Soldotna & stopped & took pictures. It
 was beautiful when we got to Homer. The mts were just
 gorgeous with snow on top. Vista View B&B where we stayed
 was way up a mt & you could see the town & the 5 mile spit
 (piece of land going like an arm out into the water). 
We ate dinner at Captain Pattie's (a restaurant on the spit)
  & I had a great halibut dinner. Our room had 2 twin beds,
 downstairs with our own bath. Very nice owners.
Tues, 7-31:It was cloudy when we got up so you couldn't
 see any mts. It was a good thing we saw them the day before.
 Had a nice breakfast of homemade blueberry pancakes, sausage
 & fruit. We left there & drove back along the same route 
then turned south & went to Seward. There really wasn't much
 there. Went to Alaska Sealife Center, but it wasn't worth 
the money & I was disappointed. It is a fishing town. Just
 before we got there we went to Exit Glacier. You go thru 
a park & can almost walk right up to the bottom of the glacier.
 It was neat. From Seward we drove back to Anchorage & spent
 the night at the Westmark Hotel that started our tour for
 the next few days.
 Wed, 8-1:We went by bus to the train station & rode the
 McKinley Explorer part of the train. They had different cars
 on the one train. Our cars were completely glass domed & you
 were assigned seats but could move around. You could see out
 both sides. It was great. Down below was the dining area, 
still on the same car & you could eat there. In the glass
 domed area you had someone who would tell you history & info
 of Alaska etc. Very nice. We got to Denali & went by bus to 
the Park. Oh, we did see Mt. McKinley (20,320 ft) from the
 train, along with some moose & caribou. We stayed at the
 McKinley Chalet Resort. Very nice. Got in about 4:30 & we 
had reservations for a dinner theater at 8:30pm. That ended
 at 11pm & we all had to be up at 4:30am for our wildlife
 bus tour at 5:30am. Yuck. Not much sleep that night. It was
 still light out at 11pm too & fairly light when we got up 
at 4:30am. 
Thur, 8-2:We went on the wildlife tour. Very nice. Saw a fox
 walking on the road right by the bus. Also on the road were
 a mama bear & her cub & a wolf (at different times). Also 
a caribou next to the road. At a distance we saw more bear,
 caribou & moose. We really saw a lot. This was about a 7 hr
 tour. When we got back we took naps & I slept for 4 hrs. 
Never did see Mt. McKinley as the clouds were too low.
 Fri, 8-3:It was very cold & rainy all day. Didn't do
 anything but stay inside til it was time to take the bus to
 the train station, about 4:30pm. Train was the same as 
before & took us to Fairbanks where Dave & I ended our tour.
 We got a rental car & went to our next B&B which was 
Country Comforts B&B. Had a nice room with queen size bed.
 Very nice owners.
 Sat, 8-4:Had good, big breakfast. Nice day, sunny & warm.
 Went to their Tanana Valley state fair which was small.
 Drove around the University of Alaska & went to the 
Georgeson Botanical Gardens. Gorgeous flowers.  Went to a 
place called Alaskaland that had original houses, shops,
 from the old days. Very nice. No admission & no parking 
fee. No parking fee at the fair either. Went to their log
 cabin visitor center with sod on the roof too. Also went
 to North Pole which is just south of Fairbanks. This is 
where Santa is. Saw him & his house. The town is all
 decorated for Christmas, year round.
 Sun, 8-5:Had another good breakfast at the B&B. It was a
 pretty cold day, but ok if you weren't out much. Went to
 church at a very country church (St. Raphael's). Really
nice. If you have a birthday or anniversary you get up & go
 stand up front so everyone can sing to you. If you're a 
visitor you stand up & say who you are & where you are from.
 Very informal. Pastor showed us around the church after 
Mass & told us different things about the church.  Went to 
the Univ of Alaska museum which was very interesting. Had
 dinner at "The Castle"with my cousin Gerrie (Erzar) & her 
husband Carly Jauhola who live in Fairbanks. I had halibut
 & Dave had salmon. Hadn't seen her since we were teenagers.
 Had a nice visit with them & they took us to their house.
 They had picked us up at the airport where we had dropped
 off our rental car. When we left their house they took us
 sightseeing around awhile & then took us back to our B&B.
 Mon, 8-6:The man at the B&B took us to the hotel for us to
 meet our bus to start our 2nd tour. It was a nice big (bus)
 coach. It was the Alaska Yukon Explorer. It had nice big
 windows & plenty of leg room. The coach driver (Phil)
 talked of things of interest & places, all along. We also
 had a tour director on board (Ian Brody) & he gave us info
 also. When anyone would see an animal, the coach driver 
would stop so we could take pictures. Very accomodating. We
 would stop for a morning break & also for lunch. We spent
 the night in Beaver Creek in the Yukon, Canada at the 
Westmark Inn. We all went to a Yukon BBQ dinner theater.
Had another good show. 
Tues, 8-7:After a big buffet breakfast we continued by coach
 to Whitehorse for the night at another Westmark Hotel, 
which is in Yukon, Canada too. On the way we saw a grizzly 
bear playing with a car tire in a lake. We stopped & stayed
 about 15 min just watching him & taking pictures. We got 
out of the bus too. There were many other cars & buses that
 stopped too. Got here about 3 or 4pm. Did some sightseeing
 & saw the SS Klondike which is a boat you can go on, that
 doesn't go out anymore. Walked around town. Nice place. 
Had good halibut fish & chips for supper. Went to a live 
show, Frantic Follies. It was ok.
 Wed, 8-8:After another big buffet breakfast we continued 
by coach to Fraser. There we got on the White Pass Yukon
 Route train. It goes thru the mts & was quite nice. You 
could look down out of the window sometimes & you could
 only see this big deep valley. It was a little scarry. If
 that ground gave way, you'd be gone. This train took us 
to Skagway which I really loved. It is a small quaint town,
 not much vehicle traffic. All the shops are right together
 on the main street & you can walk most places. There were
 4 big cruise ships in. You could walk across the street 
anyway, jay walk or whatever. You could stand in the middle 
of the street to take pictures. Just great. Went souvenir
 shopping of course. Took a tour of the city also. Stayed 
at the Westmark Inn with the tour.
 Thur, 8-9:We had another big buffet breakfast & that was
 the end of our tour. We did get a rental car for the day 
& drove on the outside of town. We stayed at a great B&B 
(Skagway Bungalows) which was our own log cabin. It had a
 kitchen area, king size bed & continental breakfast. We 
even had a neighbor's sled dog (Willow) come & visit us on
 our porch. This was the Eagle Cabin. It smelled of cedar.
 Very good. No curtains & you looked out at the trees. 
Beautiful. Nice lady owner.
Fri, 8-10:We took a boat to the city of Haines. It is a 
fairly small town. We rented another car for the day & went
 to a state fair there for all of southeast Alaska. Spent
 the night at The Little Crooked House B&B. This was not a
 nice place. Dirty & yucky. At least we only stayed 1 night
 & that was hard to do. 
Sat, 8-11:Did have a good breakfast at the B&B.Took Fjord
 express boat to Juneau. Saw humpback whales along the way
& harbor seals. Went to the airport & rented a car. Went to
 a helicopter place (Temsco) & got on a tour & got a ride.
 My first copter ride. There were 6 of us including the
 pilot. I sat next to the pilot in the front & Dave next to
 me & 3 people in back. It was great. We flew over the 
Mendenhall Glacier, landed on it & walked on it. Even saw a
 black bear & mt goats at a distance on a mt. It was quite 
cold on the glacier. We had wool caps on & gloves & they 
give you special boots to put over your shoes. This was 
probably the best part of my trip. Course, I love planes 
anyway & it was just so awesome to go in a helicopter & then
 where we went too. Then we drove to the bottom of the
 glacier in our car. We walked around the main section of
 downtown which again is all shops. Very nice town. We took
 a tram up Mt.Roberts & had quite a view too. We stayed at
 Sally's B&B here. It was nice. More like a motel room.
 Sun, 8-12:Had muffins & fruit & juice from the B&B. Went
 to another nice church. Cathedral of the Nativity of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary. The Bishop is here & says Mass. Pretty 
church with stained glass windows.  Bigger than the other
 one. Saw the state capitol, Nicholas Russian Orthodox
 Church & a few other things. Again, a lot of flowers all
 over. About 3pm we flew on Alaska Airlines to Sitka. That
 or boat is the only way to get there. This is another 
fairly small town, but nice. We got another car & drove
 around & saw totem poles, parks, St. Michael's Cathedral.
 Stayed at Angler's Landing  B&B. Very nice & nice owners. 
Had a queen size bed.
Mon, 8-13:Had a good big breakfast at B&B. Went to Alaska
 Raptor Rehab Center & saw Bald Eagles & owls. One of the 
handlers came in a room with all of the tourists & talked 
about eagles & brought one in the room & had it on his arm.
 Course, he wore big heavy gloves. It was quite interesting.
 Then we flew to Ketchikan on Alaska Airlines. That was a 
very nice place too. We got another car & drove around & saw
 a lot more totem poles & shops. Course, I have to go in all
the shops. Dave was real good about that. Had a nice apt at 
the Corner B&B here.Had living room, kitchen, bath & bedroom
 with king size bed. Very nice owners.
Tues,8-14:Had good continental breakfast of juice, homemade
 muffins, fruit, cereal & coffee at the B&B. In Ketchikan 
another day. Stayed at Corner B&B another night.
Wed, 8-15:Took our continental breakfast from the B&B with 
us. We flew to Seattle at 7:50am. Early. Our friend, Ruth 
Smith  met us here & we drove to the Space Needle & then 
took the monorail downtown. Walked around downtown there. 
Very nice. It was sunny & nice. Went to the farmers market.
 Flowers all over again. They were selling flowers by the 
bunches cheap too. Just beautiful. Spent the night with her
 & Jim. 
Thur, 8-16:Went driving around with our friends. Seeing the
 sights. Dreary, overcast day. Got nice in the afternoon &
 Ruth & I drove to Gig Harbor. Lots of boats & sailboats. 
Sunny by then.
Fri, 8-17:We all drove to Tacoma. Nice place. Went to Point
 Defiance Park Gardens. A nice park with tons of roses & 
dahlias. Just beautiful. Took lots of pictures. Went by 
Ruth's mother's house & met her. Her yards has lots of
 flowers in it too. Mike Smith came over at night, so we 
got to see him. Ruth, Dave & I had picked wild blackberries
 in her yard earlier & we made a delicious cobbler for
 dinner.
Sat, 8-18:Picked more blackberries for us to take home with
 us. Ruth took us to the airport & we flew out of there at
 2:05pm. Saw Mt. Ranier from the plane & up close. Great. 
 Went to Dallas & then here to Jax. Got here at 12:10am.
 Michelle had left our car for the day & we got it & went
 to her house & spent the night.
 Sun, 8-19:Dave came home & I came home after going to 
church with Michelle & all. So you can see we had a great
 trip. I wouldn't even say it was too long. We saw really
 everything. I liked Skagway, Juneau & Ketchikan the best 
I would say, but mainly because they were smaller places &
 because all the shops were right there together. I took
 22 1/2 rolls of 24 pictures each.  I am really glad we
finally made this trip. This is all for now. Hope you 
enjoy this. Also, we have a website so Dave will be
 putting pictures of our trip on it. 
Our website is -  http:www.geocities.com/ljwdcw/